RS

FRONT PAGE CONTRIBUTOR

Establishment Campaign Strategy: Shameless, Cowardly, and Perfidious

I’m hearing some breaking news down in Virginia’s Seventh District. Eric Cantor is planning to resign his seat and take over the helm at the hawkish immigration group, Numbers USA. Take a look at this door hanger from the Cantor campaign, which was distributed to Republican voters in his district, and that is the only conclusion one can draw from its content.

Looking at this mailer, the only observation the reader can make is that Cantor is joining the immigration hawks. After all, he would never lie to us, would he?

First, when was the last time Cantor or anyone else in leadership ever used the term “illegal alien?”

Second, is there any limit to the degree of lying that may be deemed off limits during the campaign?

This is a man who has spent the entire year pushing for the Dream Act amnesty, even while Obama suspends our enforcement laws, yet he has the impertinence to tell his constituents that he is standing up to Obama. Will he be man enough to send out another mailer touting his support for citizenship and benefits for two million illegals and chain migration for all their families? After all, he is voicing support for this proposal even as he is sending out campaign literature to the contrary.

In the event that Cantor decides to stay in Congress, the only way to ensure that this mailer remains truthful is for him to commit to block any amnesty bill from the floor as Speaker or Majority Leader.

Ironically, we are likely to see amnesty pass because so many incumbents are winning reelection. Yet, the reason they are winning is precisely because they are campaigning against amnesty (and on other conservative positions).

Now take a look at the rest of the mailer – the part that labels his primary challenger, Dave Brat, as a liberal professor [update: it appears that this was a separate mailer at an earlier date].

In his capacity as an economics professor, Brat was appointed to an unpaid position on the Joint Advisory Board of Economists for the state of Virginia while Tim Kaine was governor. This is not a governing body or even an advisory body for crafting policy. The members merely use their economic expertise to forecast macroeconomic indicators. Fast-forward to Cantor’s mailer and suddenly he would have you believe that Brat was a top cabinet official in the Kaine administration responsible for Kaine’s tax and spend record. The mailer proceeds to list all of Kaine’s liberal positions, as if he is running for office.

It is shameless that these people need to lie about the challengers in order to get their message out.

It is cowardly that these people need to spend millions blowing up candidates who could barely rub two nickels together.

And it is perfidious that these people use their money collected from pro-amnesty special interests to paint themselves as anti-amnesty so they can win reelection and pass amnesty.

Folks, we are living through the elected despotism that Jefferson and Madison so studiously tried to avoid when crafting the Founding documents.